


Sleep

by AshREvans



Series: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Short Stories [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, No Spoilers, it’s just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 10:42:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20226520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshREvans/pseuds/AshREvans





	Sleep

Claude stretched and sat back in his chair at the desk. Even though the fighting was over, he couldn’t let his skills at creating elaborate schemes and contingencies get rusty. He had to be prepared for the worst that was to come, always. Byleth humored his desire for wanting to be prepared should the worst happen and even helped him out with it of occasion. It was one of the reasons he loved her so dearly. 

The one thing she hated about it though was sometimes Claude would forget time and stay up into the wee hours of the morning thinking and writing and planning. Tonight was… definitely another one of those nights. He looked at the candle and saw it nearly burned down to the nub. Outside the sky was black, only the stars and moon there to illuminate the outside world.

Chuckling to himself, thinking Byleth was going to chew him out in the morning for staying up so late, Claude stood. Blowing out the candle, he left the room and headed to the chambers he shared with his wife. 

When he walked in he saw her laying on the bed on her back, asleep. A book was opened on her stomach and the candle was flickering on the nightstand. 

“Heh… so she tried to wait up again,” he muttered to himself. 

Shaking his head with a smile on his face, he walked over to her. Taking the book off her gently, he marked her page with the bookmark and set it aside. Almost as soon as he did that, Byleth rolled over, curling up and her arm moving to sprawl out onto his side of the bed. Not thinking much of it, he pulled the blankets over her form to keep her warm. Then he changed out of his royal garb and pinched out the candle. 

When he crawled into bed next to her, he moved her arm gently out of the way before closing his own fingers around hers. Bringing her hand to his lips, he pressed a light kiss to her knuckles and whispered good night. Just as he closed his eyes, a voice rang out next to him. 

“Good night, Claude,” Byleth whispered, mostly asleep. “I love you.” 

Claude couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. “I love you, too. Now go back to sleep.” 

“You first,” she said. 

“Yes ma’am,” he said and then pulled her into his arms, holding her close as the two of them drifted off to sleep. 

* * *

It was another one of those nights where Claude stayed up way too late. Byleth was already in bed and by the time Claude went up there, he noticed something notably off. His side of the bed, which typically laid empty until he arrived to catch a few hours of sleep, was filled. Frowning, he walked over to it and saw their dog, pressed against Byleth. 

When Claude approached, the dog, named Corrin, looked up, looking rather pleased with himself. Claude sighed and shook his head. 

“I’ll let you have this just until I’m done here,” he said and narrowed his eyes at the only other competition for Byleth’s attention aside from their cat, Robin, who was nowhere to be seen. 

Corrin put his head back down on the bed while Claude turned to get ready for the night. When he turned back moments later, Corrin was asleep again. Shaking his head again, he walked over to their pet and wrapped his arms around his middle. 

“Up you go,” he said. “That’s my wife you’re snuggling with, you mutt.” 

Corrin struggled only slightly, knowing he wasn’t going to win against someone who had two legs and fought in numerous battles. Or, maybe Claude was giving his dumbass dog a little too much credit. With all honestly, the dog was probably just tired and didn’t feel like tempting fate at two o’clock in the morning. Claude couldn’t blame him. 

Once Claude wrestled Corrin off the bed, he crawled in and under the covers. Without any hesitation, he pulled Byleth into his arms and kissed the top of her head. The blankets were warm where Corrin was laying and, in the cold winter’s night, it was comfortable. Claude understood why Byleth let Corrin onto the bed in the cold season. But now he was there and he could keep her warm. 

Just as he was about to fall asleep though, he felt something weigh down the foot of the bed. Looking up only slightly to see what it was, he saw Corrin, walking circles on the mattress before plopping down and curling up. Well… at least he could keep their feet warm.

* * *

This time, it was Byleth’s turn to stay up late. She had a lot of work foisted on her and Seteth wasn’t giving her a moment's respite to go to sleep. Many of the documents handed to her were, as he said, urgent matters that needed attending. When, finally, she got a chance to escape, it was well past midnight. Claude tried to stay up with her, but Byleth had nothing of it and sent him off to bed because his sleep habits were already FUBAR. 

When she walked into the room, Claude was fast asleep on the bed, laying on his back. One arm was stretched out over the bed onto her side while the other was resting behind his head. Byleth smiled slightly at the sight. She rarely ever got the chance to see him sleep. He was always awake before she was in the mornings and the instances where he was asleep before her were rare and far between. 

Taking a moment to admire how peaceful he looked in his sleep, Byleth then turned to get ready for bed herself. Blowing out the candle once she was changed, she lifted the covers and crawled into bed next to her husband. She curled up in his side, opting to use his arm and shoulder as her pillow since he was offering it so nicely. Besides, he hogged all of the good pillows anyway. 

The second her arm moved to rest across his chest and her hand settle on his shoulder, Claude rolled over. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her into him even more. Without opening his eyes, he spoke. 

“About time,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for hours.” 

“Oh my goddess, Claude,” Byleth groaned. “You were faking?” 

Claude shrugged. “I find it hard to sleep unless certain conditions are met,” he said and ran his fingers through her hair. “Which, as of recently, have been.” 

Byleth sighed and shook her head. “You’re an idiot.” 

“Oh yeah? Who’s the Master Tactician, then?” Claude said, smugness written all over his face and in his voice. 

Byleth groaned. “Oh, just go to sleep.” 

“You first.” 


End file.
